This new restaurant has delicious street eats you don’t see often on our menus

Hard to find Mexico City-style street food beckons at Mi Casa

Mi Casa Mexican Food in Lakewood looks like an ordinary Mexican restaurant from the outside, but the menu lists Mexico City-style street food you can’t find around here, such as tlacoyos and tacos al vapor.
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Mi Casa Mexican Food in Lakewood looks like an ordinary Mexican restaurant from the outside, but the menu lists Mexico City-style street food you can’t find around here, such as tlacoyos and tacos al vapor.
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The word “tlacoyos” was all the invitation I needed.

Driving down South Tacoma Way on my way to Korean barbecue, I spotted the Mexico City street snack advertised on the opening sign for Mi Casa Mexican Food.

The Mexican restaurant debuted in mid-February.

Tlacoyos are one of those iconic foods you’ll recognize if you’ve ever grazed your way through Mexico City or any Mexican town with a bustling street-food scene.

There was even Mexican breakfast food, like breakfast burritos ($5.99), chilaquiles ($11.99) and coctel de frutas ($6.99). Then there was enchiladas Michoacan ($14.99), the Cal-Mex specialty carne asada fries ($11.99) and chimichangas ($9.99).

Go there knowing the menu is far-reaching. I even saw a special listed on the restaurant’s Facebook page — Hidalgo-style barbacoa — that I rarely, if ever, see listed around here.

Pay attention to this: Yes, Lakewood is home to a number of great Mexican restaurants. However, if you’re interested in Mexican street foods, put this place on your radar. I wasn’t able to get in touch with the owners, but I’d love to know their back story for context.

Mi Casa’s style of ordering: Like a taqueria, order at the counter. This is a fast-service restaurant. Find your own table.

Fast-food concept, slow-food values: While it’s casual like a taqueria, the food tasted handmade and elaborately fussed over, which means Mi Casa is not going to be as fast as your favorite taco spot. Don’t go there with a deadline.

Dining room: Attractive and tidy dining room with brand new flooring, new paint job and seating for just under 40. Roomy booth seating for four each spanned the far wall and about eight tables with room for 2-4 each.

On a first visit: Put the tlacoyos high on your list. They’re listed on the menu as a dinner plate ($13.99) with no a la carte option listed. The tlacoyos came with a filling choice of refried or green beans, with the former sounding more intriguing than the latter.

The refried beans oozed out of the grilled masa discs, served piping hot, and covered in a sharp tasting verde sauce and a big pile of fresh chopped cilantro, diced radish, cotija cheese and crema. The tlacoyos came with a choice of meat — beef or chicken — and the carne asada proved a good option. It showed up as thinly sliced skirt steak, seasoned simply and grilled medium well (the kitchen’s choice, not mine).

Tacos al vapor were an interesting construction with folded-over corn tortillas dipped in a tasty red sauce, filled with shredded chicken and steamed to order. The plate came with five tacos covered in a cloud of shredded iceberg and cotija cheese.

Sauces: If you’re asked if you want a squeeze bottle of red or green sauce, the answer should be “both.” I covered my plate with squiggles. Both sauces tasted deeply punched with flavor and medium-level spicing.

For dessert: A fried plantain was more starchy than sweet ($5.99) and I couldn’t resist dunking the plantain into the rich chocolate drink champurrado ($2.99). If you’ve never had it, fix that. It’s a spiced, sweet chocolate drink thickened with masa harina.

Mi Casa Mexican Food

Sue Kidd has been The News Tribune’s restaurant critic since 2008. She dines anonymously and The News Tribune pays for all meals. Sue is a South Sound native. She writes about new restaurants, openings and closures and knows where to find the best tacos in every neighborhood.